Camp Marina Chronicles

On Monday afternoon, I was at home watching TV when I came to know about the protest against jallikattu ban organised at the Marina Beach through a WhatsApp message from friends. I am from an agricultural family and have many friends and classmates from Madurai and other parts of Tamil Nadu, I was aware of the ban and the ongoing protests in Madurai and elsewhere. As soon as I came to know of the protest planned at the Marina beach, four of my friends and I decided to come to Chennai to participate in the protest on Tuesday morning. I reached my relative’s house in Chennai on Monday night, and was at Marina beach by 9 am on Tuesday. 

When I arrived at the protest venue, which was sent as WhatsApp message, none of my friends were present. But there were other people, mostly youngsters, and they were raising slogans. I joined a group of boys from Chennai and sat in protest along with them. There was not much of a crowd. As we sat and raised slogans, some volunteers supplied water packets and biscuits to us. I had brought some money with me and bought lunch from one of the beach vendors and stayed at the beach near MGR Memorial. Later that night, I returned to my  relative’s home. Since I have never participated in a protest before and was attracted to the energy of the youth who were heading the protests, I decided to return to the Marina beach on Wednesday. When I told my relatives about my decision, they too joined me and came to the beach. 

By then, the crowds at the Marina were at least ten times more than on Tuesday. The television channels were covering it live and the atmosphere became charged. From Tuesday, I was in regular touch with my friends back home in Andal Kuppam, as well as from other parts of the state. They kept me updated about the developments. When I heard from them about the arrest of the youth at Allanganallur and other parts of the state, I decided that I was going to stay here and continue to protest until the ban on jallikattu was lifted. As I had very little money with me, I could not buy food or water but groups of volunteers kept us supplied with water bottles and food packets. They even distributed placards and banners. The food usually consisted of kushka , tamarind rice or other mixed rice. Biscuit packets and water were distributed through  the day. 

On those two days, I made some new friends who had also come to protest and we moved around in groups from one area to another at the Marina. At night, most of the protestors returned home but I decided to stayed back and slept on the beach near the statue of Subhas Chandra Bose. It was really cold during the early morning hours and there were swarms of mosquitoes. Otherwise, I had no problems. 

By Thursday morning, the crowds were massive. Wherever I turned, there was a sea of people. My friends back home told me about the media coverage and how the entire state was protesting with us. My resolve only strengthened and I continued to protest with a group of city college students. By now, the food and water supply was regularised and we did not have to go hungry. Mobile toilets were also brought to the beach but they were mostly used by  the women. As very few men remained on the beach through the day and most of the volunteers knew us by face, we were also allowed to use the toilets. The others would go to their homes to finish their morning chores, take a bath and return to the beach. Then the actors and other celebrities began to arrive. Everyone had come for the cause. I felt good about the success of the protests in bringing the nation’s attention. 

Many of my friends from the districts Whatsapped saying they wanted to join me on the beach. In the morning (Friday), four of them joined me and they came with home-cooked food and brought money. At least six more friends were on their way. I will remain here along with my friends from Andal Kuppam until the central government lifts the ban on conducting jallikattu . We are not planning to go home until we  achieve that. 

Audis, bullock carts on same track
An Audi Q 3, BMW X3 and many other swank cars were on the Kamarajar Salai with their sunroofs down and protesters in black holding placards demanding lifting the ban on jallikattu. In contrast, there was a bullock cart with a full family on top of it angrily shouting slogans against PETA and the Centre, for insulting the people and the state’s culture.

Traffic barricades become biers 

Unlike usual public protests, the protest against jallikattu ban has been highly creative. When they ran out of options, traffic barricades kept at the Marina beach by the cops became biers on which they carried the ‘coffin’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PETA. They beat the traditional drums and danced when they carried the ‘coffin’ for funeral.

The sights at the beach and the roads that lead to it certainly say yes. Even the unruly bikers, who usually whiz past heavy traffic on city roads, behaved well, obeying the instructions of other protesters who regulated the traffic on the roads. They were quick  to move to the side of the road to let two ambulances progress that were stuck. 

Marina showed city is safe for women 

Against the hue and cry about India becoming unsafe for women and the instances of mass molestation of women at public places at Bengaluru and Delhi, the city proved it leads by example. On Friday, when more than two lakh people thronged the beach for the protest, at least half of them were women. The streets were jam-packed with people, yet there was not a single complaint of harassment of women. 

What’s happening in the state – the mass movement of the youth —is beyond religion and region. For, those who have been protesting tirelessly for days have cut through all barriers. On Friday, a group of volunteers came together to ensure that some of the fellow protestors could perform namaaz . One of the protesters, Fathima Rofina, had put out a post on Facebook asking people to help out with mats for those who wanted to pray. “I had written the post at around 10.45 am with the contact number of the person to get in touch with. We immediately received a good response with people wanting to help. Many people across communities responded,” she says. The prayers happened on time and people present there helped out in all ways possible to ensure that everything was peaceful. 

The massive jallikattu protests, which have been equally active on social media, as much as on ground, saw the overenthusiastic online supporters add an insignia of a fierce bull to their profile pictures, to show their support to the cause. However, there was only one glitch – the renowned image of the bull they ‘adopted’ for their cause is the official insignia of Chicago Bulls, the popular American basketball team. This gaffe has caused many other protesters, who were aware of the Chicago Bulls, to facepalm at the irony. A supporter of jallikattu , exasperatedly pointed out that the whole point of the protests is to support the native breed. “When did the Chicago Bulls become a native breed?” he wondered. Another supporter said that many people knew that the insignia belonged to an NBA team but without any other option, decided to go for it. Reverse cultural appropriation? Or just another great Indian jugaad ? Whatever, as long as it works.